'Government's lack of action on Vitals deal proves it was party to fraud all along,' says ADPD

ADPD – The Green Party said that the manner in which a number of public-private partnerships were implemented raises serious suspicions of fraud and corruption.

During a press conference on Saturday, ADPD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo called for sound regulation and its consistent implementation to ensure good governance in these types of projects.

In reference to the courts’ annulment of the concession of three state hospitals to Steward Healthcare, Cacopardo said this was evidently a prime example of bad governance, fraud and clear suspicion of corruption that have dominated the whole process since inception.

He stated that the Court decision reaffirmed the conclusions detailed in two reports published by the Auditor General in 2020 and 2021.

The Auditor General had revealed how, Vitals Global Healthcare had presented a bank guarantee drawn up before the call had been made public – clear evidence of an underhand agreement with this company, Cacopardo highlighted.

“The Auditor General had not minced his words when he stated that Vitals Global Healthcare should not even have been considered and indeed it should have been disqualified and its submissions ignored,” Cacopardo said.

He said that the AG had drawn attention repeatedly as to what had taken place but the government failed to take the action one would have expected of it.

“The reason for this lack of action is now clear – The government had been party to this fraud all along,” Cacopardo stated.

“One has to consider the fundamental logic of such agreements and ask whether public-private partnerships, especially in a sensitive area such as health, should even be considered.

He mentioned a number of other projects about which serious suspicion of fraud and corruption had been raised, including the Delimara Power Station and the Saint Vincent de Paul elderly residence.

“PPPs are an economic model that have been abused of, with the use of the private sector as a smokescreen,” Cacopardo argued.

He said that if the country wanted to encourage the partnership and positive contribution of the private sector to public projects, there was a need for sound regulation and its consistent implementation to ensure good governance throughout the whole process, from its inception to its implementation.

“In the absence of this the consequences are now clear for all to see: a cacophony of confusion, fraud and corruption,” Cacopardo concluded.

ADPD Deputy Chairperson Sandra Gauci said that following the court judgment regarding the hospitals concessions there was a clear case where one was trying to the shift the blame onto others.

She made reference to former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s statement that it was a Cabinet decision and former Minister Evarist Bartolo that declared that the Cabinet was not aware of the dealings.

“Following Judge Depasquale’s sentence as well as the Auditor General’s reports on the concessions ADPD insists that all public contracts awarded during Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s tenure, in particular those involving Konrad Mizzi, Chris Cardona and Keith Schembri are to be investigated thoroughly,” Gauci said.

She also referred to a report in the press some months ago that had revealed that substantial payments had been made to Joseph Muscat by a foreign company close to Steward Healthcare.

“The explanations made to justify the said payments as being the result of consultancy work carried out by Joseph Muscat after the end of his time as Prime Minister are not credible,” Gauci said.

She insisted that such payments should be investigated in details, because they can uncover the real truth of what has been happening.

Gauci also called upon both the Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg and the Commissioner of Police Angelo Gafa to do their duty and take the necessary action with respect to those who it is clear put their personal interest before that of the nation.

“The evidence coming out of the Court last week is more than damning enough for them to be able to act. What are they waiting for?” Gauci asked.